Volunteer definition and meaning

Volunteer definition: A volunteer is someone who does work without being paid for it, because they want to do… | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples

Definition of ’volunteer’

Word Frequency


volunteer


(


v

ɒ

lənt

ɪə

ʳ



)

Word forms:


plural



,

3rd person singular present
tense


volunteers


,


present participle


volunteering


,


past tense



,

past participle


volunteered


1.


countable noun

A

volunteer

is someone who does work without being

paid

for it, because they

want

to do it.


She now helps in a local school as a volunteer three days a week.


Mike was a member of the local volunteer fire brigade.


2.


countable noun

A

volunteer

is someone who offers to do a particular

task

or

job

without being forced to do it.


Right. What I want now is two volunteers to come down to the front.


Any volunteers?


3.


verb

If you

volunteer


to

do something, you offer to do it without being forced to do it.


Aunt Mary volunteered to clean up the kitchen.


He volunteered for the army in 1939.


She volunteered as a nurse in a soldiers’ rest-home.


He’s volunteered his services as a chauffeur.

Synonyms:


offer

,

step forward

,

offer your services

,

propose


More Synonyms of

volunteer


4.


verb

If you

volunteer


information

, you

tell

someone something without being

asked

.



[

formal

]


The room was quiet; no one volunteered any further information.


‘They were both great supporters of Franco,’ Ryle volunteered.


The next week, Phillida volunteered that they were getting on better.


5.


countable noun

A

volunteer

is someone who

chooses

to

join

the

armed

forces,

especially

during a war, as

opposed

to someone who is forced to join by

law

.


They fought as volunteers with the rebels.


Victory in the civil war had been achieved by a mainly volunteer army.


More Synonyms of

volunteer


COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary

. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Video: pronunciation of

volunteer

Word Frequency


volunteer


in British English


(


ˌvɒlənˈtɪə



)


noun


1.


a.


b.

(

as modifier

)
a volunteer system
volunteer advice


2.

a person who freely

undertakes


military

service, esp

temporary

or

special

service


3.


law


a.

a person who does some act or

enters

into a

transaction

without being under any

legal


obligation

to do so and without being

promised

any

remuneration

for his or her services


b.


property law

a person to whom property is

transferred

without his or her giving any

valuable


consideration

in

return

, as a

legatee

under a

will


4.


a.

a plant that

grows

from

seed

that has not been deliberately

sown


b.

(

as modifier

)
a volunteer plant


verb


5.

to offer (oneself or one’s services) for an

undertaking

by

choice

and without

request

or obligation


6.



(

transitive

)

to perform, give, or

communicate

voluntarily
to volunteer help
to volunteer a speech


7.



(

intransitive

)

to

enlist

voluntarily for military service

Collins English Dictionary

. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin

C17: from French

volontaire,

from Latin

voluntārius

willing; see

voluntary

Word Frequency


volunteer


in American English


(


ˌvɑlənˈtɪr



)


noun


1.

a person who chooses freely to do or offer to do something


2.

a person who chooses freely to enter

naval

or military service, without being

compelled

to do so by law


see also


conscript


,


draftee


3.


Botany

a volunteer plant


4.


Law


a.

a person who chooses freely to enter into any transaction with no promise of

compensation


b.

a person to whom property is transferred without valuable consideration


adjective


5.


composed

of volunteers, as an

army


6.


serving

as a volunteer, usually without compensation


7.

of a volunteer or volunteers


8.


Botany

growing from seed that has

fallen


naturally

to the

ground

, not planted by a person


verb transitive


9.

to freely choose to offer or give without being asked or

obliged


verb intransitive


10.

to freely choose to enter or offer to enter into any service; enlist
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin

earlier

voluntier

< obs. Fr

voluntaire

< L

(miles) voluntarius,


voluntary

(soldier)

Examples of ‘volunteer’ in a sentence

volunteer


Read more…



Parents

should

also

volunteer this information on the

initial


invite

.


The Sun



(

2017

)


His new

confidence

galvanised him into volunteering for

active

service.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2016

)


Because we volunteer all this information.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2017

)


The

troops

had volunteered to give

evidence

about what

help

is offered by the

ministry

to

soldiers

and

veterans

under Ihat

investigation

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2016

)


He volunteered his services to a

refugee


charity

in

western


Germany


offering


classes

for

migrants


seeking

to

understand

how to

establish


relationships

with

Germans

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2017

)


We offer

leadership

and volunteering

opportunities

and have more than 100

clubs

that will make your CV

stand

out.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2016

)


He has offered to volunteer for

local

charities but as

soon

as he gives his

address

as a

homeless

hostel’they don’t want anything to do with you.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2016

)


You have no

moral

obligation to volunteer the information.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2008

)


In a few

weeks

a

company

of volunteers will plant

thousands

of

reeds

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2009

)


And

tens

of thousands more are volunteering their services for

free

.


The Sun



(

2010

)

Show more…


We asked

three


reluctant

volunteers to give up their

gadgets

for a

day

.


The Sun



(

2011

)


Many were also volunteering for his

campaign

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2012

)


She

stayed

and volunteered as a

fire


warden

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2014

)


And who would volunteer to

clean

up

afterwards

?


Times, Sunday Times



(

2006

)


He also acts as a volunteer in

helping

me with my

office

work and

administration

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2009

)


Many of those who

come

as volunteers return as

friends

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2009

)



Now

the volunteers were

receiving


conflicting

information.


Dylan Evans


PLACEBO: The Belief Effect



(

2003

)


They include stockpiling fire

engines

in

secure

areas and

recruiting

local volunteer

crews

.


The Sun



(

2013

)


We have been used to

maintain

the

myth

that there is

independent


advice

for volunteers.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2006

)


Volunteer information about your

real

or

imagined


deficiencies

.


Fletcher, Clive


How to Face Interviews



(

1981

)


Animal

welfare

organisations

said

that many of the

tests

are

unnecessary

or could be performed on

human

volunteers.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2007

)


There were fewer

problems

than

expected

at

airports

and

ports


owing

to

hundreds

of

extra


civil

service volunteers.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2011

)


This

tiny

force was bolstered by 200,000 hastily enlisted volunteers.


Garraty, John Arthur


The American Nation: A History of the United States to 1877



(

1995

)



Today

their army of 200 volunteers has chalked up some

serious


successes

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2015

)

COBUILD Collocations

volunteer


adult volunteer


healthy volunteer


recruit a volunteer


train volunteers


unpaid volunteer


willing volunteer

Trends of

volunteer

View usage for:

In other languages

volunteer


British English

:


volunteer


ˌvɒlənˈtɪə

/

NOUN

A

volunteer

is someone who does work without being paid for it, especially for an organization such as a charity.
She now helps in a local school as a volunteer.


American English

:


volunteer


vɒlənˈtɪər

/


Arabic

:

مُتَطَوِّع


Brazilian Portuguese

:

voluntário


Chinese

:

志愿者


Croatian

:

volonter


Czech

:

dobrovolník


Danish

:

frivillig


Dutch

:

vrijwilliger


European Spanish

:


voluntario


Finnish

:

vapaaehtoinen


French

:


bénévole


German

:

Freiwilliger


Greek

:

εθελοντής


Italian

:


volontario


Japanese

:

志願者


Korean

:

자원 봉사자


Norwegian

:

frivillig


Polish

:

ochotnik


European Portuguese

:


voluntário


Romanian

:

voluntar


Russian

:

доброволец


Latin American Spanish

:


voluntario


Swedish

:

frivillig


Thai

:

อาสาสมัคร


Turkish

:

gönüllü olmak


Ukrainian

:

волонтер


Vietnamese

:

tình nguyện viên


British English

:


volunteer


ˌvɒlənˈtɪə

/

VERB

If you

volunteer

to do something, you offer to do it without being forced to do it.
Max volunteered to clean up the kitchen.


American English

:


volunteer


vɒlənˈtɪər

/


Arabic

:

يَتَطَوَّعُ


Brazilian Portuguese

:

voluntariar-se


Chinese

:


自愿


Croatian

:

volontirati


Czech

:

nabídnout


Danish

:

melde sig frivilligt


Dutch

:

zich vrijwillig aanmelden


European Spanish

:

ofrecerse voluntariamente


Finnish

:

ilmoittautua vapaaehtoiseksi


French

:

se porter volontaire


German

:

freiwillig tun


Greek

:

προσφέρομαι εθελόντικά


Italian

:

offrirsi volontario


Japanese

:

自発的に申し出る


Korean

:

자원하다


Norwegian

:

påta seg frivillig


Polish

:

zgłosić się na ochotnika


European Portuguese

:

voluntariar-se


Romanian

:

a se oferi voluntar


Russian

:

вызываться добровольцем


Latin American Spanish

:

ofrecerse voluntariamente


Swedish

:

frivilligt anmäla sig


Thai

:

อาสา


Turkish

:

gönüllü


Ukrainian

:

працювати волонтером


Vietnamese

:

tình nguyện


Translate your text for free

Nearby words of

volunteer

Related terms of

volunteer

Source

Definition of

volunteer

from the

Collins English Dictionary

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Question:

1

Score:


0

/

5


face the danger


or


spell danger

?

Drag the correct answer into the box.
spell danger
face the danger


This could


for the global economy.


cut the dividends


or


reap dividends

?

Which version is correct?


divorce battle


or


leadership battle

?

Which version is correct?


mathematical formula


or


successful formula

?

Which version is correct?


deny treatment


or


improve treatments

?

Drag the correct answer into the box.
improve treatments
deny treatment


Researchers will help us better understand the causes and


.


Your score:

May 01, 2021

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the Muse of comedy and pastoral poetry


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Scrabble score
for ‘volunteer’:


12

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